Coronavirus may push up euro zone borrowing by 1.5 tln euros - ECB

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FRANKFURT, May 8 (Reuters) - Euro zone governments may need to borrow an additional 1.5 trillion euros this year to keep their economies afloat amid the coronavirus pandemic, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde said on Friday.

“The ECB estimates that – in our medium scenario of a drop in GDP of around 8% – the additional government financing needs in the euro area this year resulting from the recession and the required fiscal measures may exceed 10% of euro area GDP,” Lagarde said.

“This would put the additional debt issuance due to the pandemic in the range of 1 trillion to 1.5 trillion euros in 2020 alone. (Reporting by Balazs Koranyi Editing by Francesco Canepa)